My research analyzes the cultural and organizational underpinnings of world society.  In particular, my work examines the changing definition of the human-nature relationship, as expressed in the rise of the global environmental movement; the changing definition of sex, as expressed in shifting criminal regulations and human rights; and the changing definition of knowledge, as expressed in the evolution and expansion of the university curriculum.  Current projects focus on the university and the global knowledge society (with John W. Meyer) and the emergence of LGBTQ public life in countries around the world.  I hold degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago (B.A.) and Stanford University (M.A. and Ph.D.).  Before coming to the University of California, Irvine, in 2002, I served on the sociology faculty at Harvard University.